The Test
by Fantasy3
Summary: When Harry finds an object in his trunk that brings him back into different ages, will he be able to bring himself, Hermione, and Ron home safely?
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter, Newsies, or any other musical/play/book that I use. Or, as a matter of fact, any of the characters in this story.  
  
Harry Potter walked into his dormitory to get his wand. He would need it for his homework tonight. But when he reached into his trunk, he didn't feel his wand. in fact, he didn't feel anything but one item, which Harry pulled out to let it shine and spin in his hand. He was mesmerized by it- he had never seen it before. There was a bang from the Common Room, and then the sound of footsteps coming up the steps. Somehow, he could feel that no one else should be able to see what he had found in his trunk, but before he could hide it, or even think of a place TO hide it, Ron and Hermione burst into the room.  
"Harry, what are you doing? We've been looking for you all over!" Hermione said.  
"Whoa! Harry, what is that?" Ron said, seeing the shining object in his hand.  
Harry shook his head.  
"Whatever it is, it's bloody-wicked!" Ron said, bending down to stare at it more closely. He reached out to touch it, but as he did so, the object started to make a sound and turned a blood red.  
"Oh, Harry, you should put that back where you found it until we show it to a teacher!" Hermione exclaimed.  
"Hermione! We can't just put it away. Don't you want to know what it is?" Ron asked.  
Hermione bit her lip and stared at the object, now turning a light blue.  
"Where did you find that?" Ron asked, satisfied knowing that Hermione did want to know what it was.  
"It was the only thing in my trunk. I went to find my wand, but this was all that was in there." Harry scrambled forward to look into his trunk, and instead of seeing the wooden bottom of it, he was looking down on some kind of city.  
"Harry." Hermione whispered.  
Before anyone could say another thing, they were sucked into the trunk, hurtled into the city they had been looking at. 


	2. Medda's

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry, Ron, Hermione, or any of the Newsies.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry stood up. "Where are we?"  
Ron shrugged. "An alley?"  
  
"That isn't funny, Ron! We're going to miss all our classes tomorrow!" Hermione cried.  
"Come on, we can ask someone where we are." Harry led the way out of the alley but stopped when he saw the people.  
"Maybe we should ask WHEN we are." Ron said. He looked around. Everyone was wearing old-fashioned clothes. "Wonder if they're all muggles?"  
  
"I don't know, better not ask anyone that. We already look different, and if we ask where we are and what year it is." Harry said, sounding uncertain.  
"They might think we had amnesia!" Hermione exclaimed. "That would be a really good excuse, we should use it!"  
"I see I found some spies." A voice said from behind Harry. He whirled around and was face to face with a boy with dark brown hair. He was short, but he looked mean.  
"We aren't spies." Ron said.  
"Like I'd believe ya!" The boy said. He shouted over his shoulder. "Hey, boys! I found some spies, let's take 'em ta Jack."  
Five boys walked out of the shadows. Four of them grabbed Harry, Ron, and Hermione, while the other walked next to the first boy. "What kind of clothes are dey wearin', Spot?"  
  
The other boy, whose name was Spot, shook his head. "I don't know."  
"Do ya think Jack's still at da Lodgin' House?" the boy asked.  
"I dunno, Doc. He might have left for Medda's already." Spot said.  
"Wheah do ya think they're from?" Doc asked.  
"Doc, how many questions do ya have? I don't know, maybe Harlem. Dey ain't too happy wit us right now." Spot said.  
Doc and Spot were silent the rest of the way. Hermione looked over at Harry. "I think we're in America. Harlem is in New York." she whispered.  
The boy holding her shook her. "Did I say you could talk?"  
  
Hermione closed her eyes and hung her head. She didn't say anything else. They stopped, finally, in front a theatre, which had a big painted sign that said Irving Hall, and which had a big picture of a lady with red hair on it. A Swedish Meadowlark, it said.  
They walked inside and up the stairs to the loft, where they saw a bunch of boys wearing pretty much the same things as Spot, Doc, and the other boys. Spot led the way to one of the boys who had dark blond hair and was wearing a red bandanna.  
"Jack, I found dese three in one of da alleys. Thought dey might be spies." Spot said, nodding towards Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  
"We're not spies!" Harry said.  
Doc laughed. "Spies with English accents."  
Spot waved him off. Him and Jack talked quietly for a few minutes, then looked up.  
"Come heah." Jack said. The person holding Harry released him, and he walked up to Jack.  
"What's yer name, kid?" Jack asked him.  
"Harry. Harry Potter." Harry said, hoping, maybe for the first time, that someone would recognize the name, though he highly doubted it, and when Jack didn't say anything, his heart fell.  
"How old are ya?"  
"15." Harry said.  
Jack nodded. "Are you a spy?"  
"No!" Harry said.  
Jack laughed. "Alright, kid. Now, wheah'd ya come from?"  
  
Harry glanced back at Hermione. "We're immigrants." She said.  
Harry smiled gratefully. That would work.  
"From wheah?" Spot asked.  
"England." Harry said.  
"How long ya been heah?"  
  
"We had just gotten heah when ya found us." The truth.  
"Need a place ta stay?" Jack asked.  
Ron raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you think we were spies?"  
Harry groaned, but Jack laughed. "I did. And what's yer name?"  
  
"Um- Ron, Ron Weasley." He said.  
"And yours?" Jack asked.  
"Hermione Granger." She then noticed that they had let go of her.  
"Good names, but dey won't woik heah. Ya need nick names. But we'll think of 'em latah, when we get ta the Lodgin' House." Jack said. "And I'll introduce ya ta all da guys."  
Harry looked around at Ron, who shrugged. "Harry, do you think we should ask what year it is?"  
Hermione shook her head. "No. We'll find out sooner or later."  
  
"Do you think they expect us to wear those outfits?" Ron made a face.  
"We'll have to." Hermione said at once.  
Ron groaned. "They're even worse then muggle clothes!"  
"Muggle clothes aren't bad, Ron!" Hermione huffed.  
"Well, right now, those ARE muggle clothes." Harry said.  
"Come on, boys! And you too, goil! We're goin' home, the show's ovah!" Jack called.  
"Well, let's go." Hermione said, and she led them out the building. 


	3. Nicknames

Disclaimer: As much as I want to, I don't own Harry Potter OR Newsies. Harry Potter and everything related to it belongs to Warner Brothers, and Newsies belongs to Disney.  
  
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Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed the rest of the boys to the Lodging House. Jack, who looked to be the leader, told them to sign in.  
"It's two cents a night." Jack said when they finished signing in.  
Ron looked over at Harry. "We. We don't have two cents."  
  
Jack shook his head. "Dat's fine. First night's free. Now come upstairs, I'll show youse where you'll sleep. And you can meet some of da guys."  
Harry shrugged at the others and walked up the old, rickety stairs. They were met by a ton of voices and a room full of boys of all ages.  
"Guys!! HEY GUYS!" Jack shouted, quieting them. "We'se got some new kids!"  
  
"New kids, huh?" one of the boys asked, standing up. "Well, lookit dis, it's a goil!"  
"Shuddup, Race." Jack said. "Dis is Harry, Ron, and Her-Her- somethin'."  
"Hermione." She said at once.  
"Yeah, dat." Jack said. "They need nicknames."  
"How 'bout Specs for dat one!" The boy named Race shouted. One of the other boys threw his hat at him.  
"Dat's already my name, Race!" The boy, Specs, shouted.  
Harry was only half-listening. It was really hot in the room, and it reminded him of his Divination room. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and looked around at everybody in the room. They were all staring at him, Ron, and Hermione, and that reminded him of his sorting. He wondered how they got here, and why they were here instead of in the common room, doing homework. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a shout.  
"What's dat on your forehead?" Jack asked.  
Harry jumped. "Um. it's a scar."  
"It looks like lightnin'." Race commented.  
"No kiddin'." Jack said. "Do ya like dat? Lightnin'?"  
"For what?" Harry asked.  
"A nickname, kid. Stay wit me." Jack said.  
"Oh. Well, not really." Harry said.  
"Scarface!" one of the boys shouted.  
"No way, Skittery! Sounds like a dog name!" another shouted back.  
"Yeah, 'cause it is, Itey. I named my dog that." Skittery replied.  
"When have you ever had a dog, Skits?" yet another of the boys asked.  
"It's his imaginary dog, Swifty. Haven't ya ever seen him talkin' to hiself?" Race asked. The boys all laughed at that, except for Skittery, who glared at them all.  
"I did have a dog." Skittery said.  
"Yeah, but den it got run over by an imaginary car." Specs said seriously. "I saw it happen."  
"So now your sayin' dat your specs have magic powers?" Race asked.  
"Like dere's really magic." Skittery said, always in a bad mood.  
"Be quiet already, we need ta think of names!" Jack shouted.  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all trying not to laugh, but it wasn't easy. Here these boys were talking about magic, and how they don't believe in it- when they have a witch and wizards right in front of them.  
"Jack!" Kloppman called up the stairs.  
"What, Kloppy?" Jack called back.  
"I need to talk to you!" Jack shrugged and walked down the stairs to where Kloppman was waiting.  
"Is there a girl up there?" he asked.  
Jack laughed. "We won't do nothin'."  
  
"That's not what I meant. You know as well as me that the 'World' doesn't tolerate girl newsies." Kloppman said.  
"I was thinkin' about dat. But we can't just throw 'em in the streets, dey ain't got money. And we can't break 'em up. Dey came here tagether."  
"So what are you going to do?" Kloppman asked.  
"I'm bringin' 'em to Brooklyn. Goils sell there." Jack said. "Spot told me he'd take 'em. He's comin' ta get 'em tomorrow, aftah we sell the first edition."  
  
"So you're not selling tomorrow morning?"  
  
"No, we'll just have da goil put her hair in a hat. Dey need to get a little money for tomorrow night. it ain't free lodgin's dere, and it'll take awhile ta get to Brooklyn."  
"Alright, then get back up there and give 'em good names." Kloppman smiled and started to go back behind the counter. "Oh, Jack!"  
"Yeah?" Jack asked.  
"Have the girl sleep in the sick room. She's not sleeping in a room full of boys."  
Jack nodded and went back up.  
"What was dat about, Jacky-boy?" Race asked.  
"Nothin'. Now, names."  
"I think he could use carrot!" Specs said, pointing to Ron. "His hair's red enough."  
"I like it." Jack said.  
Ron groaned. Of course they gave him a nickname because of his hair. Hope bad would that be, being called CARROT? He was very happy Malfoy wasn't around to here that. He'd never hear the end of it.  
"And dat one's scarface." Skittery said.  
"It ain't." Jack said.  
"What does it say on his jacket?" Specs asked. "We could call 'im that."  
Harry looked down at his robe. He had his patch on it, which said Gryffindor. He had forgotten that he still had it on. Ron and Hermione had taken theirs off, and now he wished he had, too.  
"Well, what does it say? You can read, can't ya?" Race asked.  
Harry nodded. "It says Gryffindor."  
  
"What does DAT mean?" one of the boys shouted. He had been quiet up until now, and he stood up. He had a patch over one eye.  
"Shuddup, Kid!" Jack said. "You wanna use dat as your nickname?"  
  
Harry shrugged. He wouldn't really mind, he liked it.  
"It's too long." Itey said.  
"Yeah, how 'bout. Fif." Jack said.  
"Fif? What's dat?" Specs asked.  
"It's short, for Gryffindor." Jack explained.  
"How 'bout just Griff?" Racetrack asked.  
"What do you want, kid?" Jack asked Harry.  
"How about Potter?" Harry asked.  
"Where'd ya get dat?" Race asked.  
"It's my last name." Harry said.  
"I like it. So it's Potter and Carrot. No how 'bout da goil?" Jack asked.  
"What do ya like to do?" Race asked Hermione.  
"I like to read." Hermione said. She couldn't think of anything else. She was too busy trying to think of a way to get back to Hogwarts.  
"Den maybe Books?" Specs suggested.  
"Nah." Jack said.  
"Do you have any suggestions?" Skittery asked Harry and Ron.  
"She's always telling us what to do." Ron said. Hermione hit him. "What? You are."  
  
"And she does our homework." Harry said, teasing Hermione.  
"You go ta school?" Racetrack asked, gaping at them. "How come you got no money, den?"  
"We did go to school. In England. But we. came here because our parents died. and we only had enough money for tickets." Hermione said, making up something.  
"Well, you ain't the only orphans heah." Jack said. "Most of us are. Ya came ta the right place."  
  
"We had no choice, we had to come here." Ron mumbled.  
"How 'bout Dictionary?" Jack suggested.  
"No way! We ain't gonna call her Dictionary!" Specs shouted. "Who'd wanna be called Dictionary?"  
  
"Fine, den. You come up wit somethin'."  
  
Hermione watched them, wondering why she even needed a nickname. It was one of the things she just didn't know.  
"Maybe we could call 'er by HER last name, too." Specs suggested after a minute or two.  
"Nah, somethin' different." Jack said.  
  
"Why not her real name. I mean, it don't sound like a name, anyway." Specs said. Hermione huffed.  
"What was it again?" Skittery asked.  
"Hermione." She answered. "And it's a name. In England, anyway. Maybe not here."  
"Dat's it! England!" Race shouted out, sounding like he thought he was the smartest person in the world.  
"I like it. Whatta you say?" Jack asked.  
"It's better than dictionary." Hermione said truthfully.  
"Alright. Den everyone, dis is Carrot, Potter, and England." Jack said.  
  
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Looks like I am gonna finish it, lol. I'm going to wait for the next chapter to tell Hermione that she'll have to dress like a boy. that'll be fun!! lol. Anyway, I hope you liked it! I think I'm gonna keep with it. PLEASE REVIEW!! :) 


	4. YouKnowWho?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Harry Potter is the property of Warner Brothers and were made up by J.K. Rowling, and the newsies belong to Disney. Oh, I do own the Brooklyn newsies, just not Spot.  
  
Quick Shout Outs!!  
  
Blue Boxer- Thanks SOOO much for the reviews... it's because of you I finished this chapter!! Lol!  
  
Athlete- Thanks for the reviews, too. I updated!! YES!! Lol.  
  
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Jack turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Why don't ya get ready for bed. It's late, even fer us."  
  
"Where's the loo?" Ron asked.  
  
"Da loo?" Racetrack shouted. "Was a LOO?"  
  
Hermione nudged Ron. "The bathroom."  
  
"Oh, dat. It's ovah there." Jack said, pointing.  
  
"Thanks." Harry said, and the three of them headed that way.  
  
"Da loo." Race said, smirking as they walked out of sight.  
  
"Carrot?! Carrot! Can you believe that?! Of course I'm stuck with Carrot!" Ron said.  
  
"Oh, be quiet, Ron. That's not the biggest problem we have right now." Hermione said.  
  
"How did we get here?" Harry asked, trying to figure it out.  
  
"That thing that you took out of your trunk." Ron said.  
  
"What was it?" Harry asked. "We have to get back!"  
  
"We do, we can't miss classes tomorrow." Hermione said.  
  
Ron grinned. "No, I could miss a day... Double Potions tomorrow. Wouldn't mind missing that."  
  
Harry, however, wasn't listening as Ron and Hermione argued. He was thinking about how that thing had gotten into his trunk. Maybe someone had put it in there? But who? Harry sighed. One person came into his head. "Voldemort."  
  
"-what?" Ron asked in mid-sentence.  
  
"It must have been Voldemort!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"Don't say his name!" Ron said.  
  
"But how could he have gotten past all the teachers? And the enchantments? He can't apparate into the school..." Hermione said, thinking out loud.  
  
"Hermione, this is You-Know-Who we're talking about! He can do pretty much anything." Ron said.  
  
"Who else would want us out of the way?" Harry asked.  
  
"Maybe Dumbledore did it, so You-Know-Who wouldn't be able to find us." Hermione said. "Well, find you, Harry."  
  
Race poked his head into the room. "You t'ree ready yet?"  
  
"Yeah, we're coming." Harry said, leading them back into the bunk room.  
  
"We'll find ya some extra clothes tamorrow." Jack said. "Youse two can sleep heah. Hope ya don't mind sharin'... we don't have an extra bunks, Itey and Snitch already share. Dutchy's lettin' ya use his bunk, he's over with Swifty. And you, youse sleepin' in the sick room. Kloppy won't let ya stay in a room full 'a boys."  
  
Harry spoke up before Ron could say anything. "Thanks."  
  
Jack nodded and led Hermione to the sick room. He flipped the light on, but it didn't do much to lighten the small room. There was just enough space for a single bed, a bed side table, and a rickety old chair. "Ya gotta squeeze in, sorry." Jack said.  
  
Hermione shook her head. "No, it's alright."  
  
"Good." Jack said. "Now, listen. Da 'World' don't let goils sell."  
  
"The 'World'?" Hermione asked, confused.  
  
"It's da paper we sell for." Jack explained. "Yer gonna go ta Brooklyn tamorrow, with Spot, but he's not comin' until after da mornin' edition is sold. So I figured I'd show you t'ree the ropes. You'll need da money for da Lodgin' House in Brooklyn."  
  
"Sounds good." Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah, but you'll have ta wear yer hair up." Jack said. "We can't have Weasel thinkin' yer a goil. Ya won't mind pretendin' ta be a boy, will ya?"  
  
Hermione stared at him for a few seconds, and then nodded again. "Yeah, that's... that's fine."  
  
Jack nodded. "'Night."  
  
Hermione watched as he left the room and closed the door. She fell onto her bed.  
  
"I have to be a boy?" Hermione groaned. "We need to find a way home."  
  
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Alright, I lied. I didn't wait to update this until summer. I got reviews, so I updated... see, the power of reviews!! No, review again, and I might update soon!! Lol. I know it was kinda short... but oh, well, it's finished. 


	5. Clothes!

Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter, or the Newsies. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, and Newsies belongs to Disney. Which is sad, I wish I owned at least one of them...  
  
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The next morning dawned bright and early... literally. Kloppman came around, waking them all up, and Harry woke with a start, at first confused as to why he wasn't in his room at school. But then he remembered. He felt Ron sit up next to him and yawn.  
  
"Ya ready for yer first day of sellin'?" Jack asked on his way to the bathroom.  
  
Ron groaned. "What time is it?"  
  
"Too early." Harry answered. "But come on, don't want to be late-"  
  
"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around. "Think she's up yet?"  
  
Harry shrugged and followed the rest of the boys to the bathroom. "We'll find her later, let's go."  
  
Ron got up and followed him, walking past the room where, though he didn't know it, Hermione was just waking up. She, too, wasn't sure where she was at first, but then she groaned. Now she had to act like a boy... She got out of bed and got dressed, and then opened the sick room door and headed for the bathroom like the rest.  
  
"Heya, England, had a good sleep?" one of the boys asked her. She couldn't remember which one he was, but she nodded, and was very pleased to find both Harry and Ron in the bathroom.  
  
"There you are. Took you long enough to get up." Ron said, turning towards her.  
  
"Heya Potter, Carrot! Here." Jack handed them each a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of suspenders. "I think the pants'll be big for ya, so ya gotta wear da suspenders."  
  
Harry nodded as he took his clothes.  
  
"And here, dese are for you." He handed Hermione a shirt, a pair of pants that looked bigger, if possible, than the other two's, a pair of suspenders, and a light brown cabby hat. "You need ta wear big pants, oddah wise they'll see you're a girl. And make sure ya get all your hair in da hat."  
  
Hermione nodded, and Jack left them alone.  
  
Ron was grinning. "Other wise they'll see you're a girl? What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Hermione frowned. "They said the newspaper doesn't let girls sell, so I'll have to pretend I'm a boy." Ron laughed, and Harry couldn't help but grin. "Don't just stand there, we need to change!" She turned around sharply and headed for one of the stalls to change into her 'new' clothes. The two boys followed, Ron sniggering all the way.  
  
"I can't wait to see Hermione as a boy!" Ron whispered to Harry. He headed into his own stall, as did Harry and Hermione.  
  
Harry locked it behind him and held up his pants. 'These are worse than Dudley's old clothes', he thought. He shrugged and slipped them on, and realized Jack was right- he would need the suspenders. He grabbed his shirt, put it on and buttoned it up, and then tried to put his suspenders on, but couldn't. He just couldn't clip them onto the back... "Hey, Ron." Harry said, hoping that he was in the stall next to him.  
  
"Yeah?" Ron asked. He, too, was having trouble putting his suspenders on.  
  
"I can't clip the suspenders in the back..." Harry started.  
  
"Neither can I." Ron said. "Come, I'll do it for you, and then you clip mine, alright?"  
  
Harry unlocked his stall again and came out to see Ron standing in clothes that were too big for him instead of his usual too small clothes. They clipped each others suspenders onto their pants, and the two of them headed over to a mirror to see just how bad they looked.  
  
"I don't look that bad..." Ron said, staring at his reflection. His black pants, though big, didn't look bad, and his green shirt fit him really well. But he got lucky, getting the black suspenders.  
  
Harry, too, looked at his reflection, and frowned. The brown pants looked fine, and the blue shirt... but the purple suspenders!  
  
"Don't worry, mate, nobody's matching." Ron said happily.  
  
Harry laughed. "You are."  
  
"Well, that's me. Now Hermione, are you going to come out and show us your clothes?" Ron asked.  
  
"No." Hermione said, still in the stall.  
  
"You need to come out sometime." Harry said. "Might as well come out now."  
  
"Yeah, no Moaning Murtle to laugh at you this time..." Ron said, grinning. He was remembering the time, in their second year at Hogwarts, when the Harry and Ron turned into Crabbe and Goyle, and Hermione, due to getting the wrong hair, turned into a cat. At the time, they were in Moaning Murtle's bathroom.  
  
"That's not funny, Ron." Hermione said.  
  
"Hey, where's yer girlfriend?" Racetrack asked as he spotted Ron and Harry in their new clothes.  
  
"She won't come out." Ron said, pointing to the closed stall door.  
  
The door opened and Hermione came walking out, wearing her brown pants, yellow, green, and white plaid shirt, black suspenders, and her hair twisted up into the light brown cabby hat.  
  
"Ya look good." Race said, nodding his approval. "Dey'll never be able ta tell you're a girl."  
  
Hermione smiled slightly. "Thanks... I guess."  
  
"Let's go! Carryin' da banner!!" Jack shouted out, and all the newsies shouted "Carryin' da banner!" back to him.  
  
Hermione held back a little to look at her self in the mirror. "My clothes are so big!"  
  
"You look fine, Hermione. Our clothes are big, too." Harry said, trying to comfort her.  
  
"Now, Hermione, you'll probably have to talk in a deeper voice... don't want to sound like your voice is changing, do you?" Ron asked, grinning.  
  
"Ron, how many times do I have to tell you, this isn't funny!" Hermione said.  
  
"Oh, come on, Hermione!" Ron said.  
  
"You're only happy because we're missing Double Potions." Hermione argued.  
  
"I am not! Though it is good... Stop being in a bad mood! You're just worried about your grades dropping." Ron argued back.  
  
"I don't think we should be missing anything. Its O.W.L. year, everything we learn is important." Hermione persisted.  
  
"Who cares? Fred and George only got three O.W.L.s, I'm bound to get more."  
  
"Oh, don't go saying you're better than Fred and George! There's no reason to bring them into this!"  
  
"So now you're saying I'm stupid?" Ron shouted.  
  
Serveral of the newsies looked back at them. As they were fighting, they had walked out onto the streets of New York City, heading for the Distribution Center.  
  
Harry sighed. "Stop bickering, you two! That's all you've been doing lately."  
  
"She started it." Ron said.  
  
Harry interrupted before Hermione could say anything. "Doesn't matter, just stop. We don't want to attract too much attention to us, not until we figure out how we got here."  
  
Hermione sighed. "Harry's right, you know. I guess I'll live with being a boy for a few days."  
  
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So, yes, sorry about the boringness of this, I was gonna have them sell in this chapter, but I really don't want to make these long chapters. So here ya go, I'll try and update again soon!! Have a great day!! 


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